The Apple specialist news site asked Nest if it would look into updating its current products to support the new features that will be introduced with iOS 11. Nest's reply was that it would "consider HomeKit".

Apple quietly introduced a new feature with the announcement of iOS 11 that will make it much easier for smart-home product manufacturers to add their devices to Apple's HomeKit platform.

Currently, HomeKit-enabled devices require a hardware chip so the products can work with the company's Made-for-iPhone program. However, with the update, products can be added to HomeKit via software authorisation through iCloud.

HomeKit already supports smart home devices such as thermostats, lighting and smoke detectors, but Nest hasn't been on the list. Whilst the associated costs of meeting HomeKit criteria are largely to blame, Nest is a natural rival for Apple due to its affiliation with Google. It's encouraging to see Nest is at least considering adopting Apple's, and if it did, it would not only give people more of a reason to adopt HomeKit, but it could expand Nest's appeal as well.